What an eventful year it was! In 2022 we bought a house, packed up and moved our belongings across the country to California, and put our condo in New York on the market. And those were just the events that occurred from September through December. Now we’re in the midst of a home remodel, which started out modestly and has morphed into Demo Central. And guess who the project manager is? Me. The old me, that is. Literally. I’m older by more than a decade since my last move and remodel. Where I found the energy to tackle a major move and don my hard hat for the job of project manager on our house remodel, God only knows. Guess my daily walks and morning yoga routine are paying off. It’s given me strength and stamina I didn’t know I had. Or maybe there’s truth in the old saying, When the going gets tough, the tough get going.
It’s easy to get stuck in a rut as we get older. With the passage of time my comfort zone has grown increasingly comfortable. It’s like a featherbed on a cold morning—it takes a Herculean effort to pry myself from it. I also like my routines, with all the changes in my life, they’ve been disrupted. Not only that I’m starting over in a new city. I’ve had to learn new geography. New routes when traveling in my car. New places to shop and do business. New people. People who’ve become friends. People who are our new neighbors. People who perform the services I need.
Speaking of neighbors, I met one of ours this morning after a limb from the tree in our front yard fell on her car that was parked on the street during last night’s big storm. Not exactly the welcome to the neighborhood either of us had in mind! She was so nice about it, I came away with renewed hope for the new year and our new home. 2023 started with a bang—or rather, a crash—yet something good came of it. I discovered what a nice neighbor I have. Better yet, no damage was done to her car. I’ve met some of the other neighbors as well, and already can see we’ll get along just fine. With most bad things that happen something good can be extracted from it, if you know to look for it. Sometimes we have to dig down below the rubble, but it’s often there, like the miraculously intact household item in a flattened house in the aftermath of a tornado.
My one routine that hasn’t changed is my writing routine. I still get up most mornings and hit my desk. Being an early riser, I can usually get in three to four hours of writing time before the start of business hours, when I deal with the million-and-one details that comes with my job as project manager. I have a book on submission and another one in the works. Hopefully, 2023 will also bring book news. By this time next year I expect to be snugly ensconced in my new nest, my hard hat permanently retired.
Meanwhile, I have the tree limb in the front yard of our new home to dispose of and fruit from the grapefruit tree out back that carpet-bombs the yard daily to pick up.
Happy New Year! So happy you have good neighbors, makes a big move easier to handle.🥂
Happy New Year, and WELCOME to California… Good luck with your hard hat project ! Hopefully, all goes smoothly !!….Hoping for a new book to read soon…
Books in the works! Music to my ears. Thank you for the lovely post.
Happy New Year! Wishing you much happiness in your new home!
Looking forward to your new book!
So glad the flooding doesn’t seem to be affecting your immediate area. Sad about the tree limb, but how lucky that no damage was done to the car. We have lost so many limbs off of our 47 year old fir tree that we are having it removed the end of this month. It has become stressed and the limbs could hurt someone, or if the tree fell, destroy our home or our neighbor’s. These storms are only going to get worse and we can’t take the chance of someone getting hurt. I love the tree, but will replace it with something that doesn’t grow to 100+ feet tall. Hope your remodel chugs along smoothly! Keep that hard hat on!
Finally got my damaged roof gutter fixed. My neighbor is a handman/contractor and I gave him the job. He did an awesome job!
Oops! Glad to hear there was no damage. Change is hard for old folks. We found that out when my husband and I moved from Sacramento to northwestern Nevada, 7 years ago the end of January. We had lived in Sacramento for a lot of years, 35 and a half years for me, over 40 for my husband. We were in our 70’s then, 80’s now. Thankfully it was a smooth move, we were organized. Yet there was a period of adjustment, our small town doesn’t have a lot so it was driving into Carson City or even Reno to take care of things. We met our neighbors when we looked at our home for the first time, and a friendship developed immediately. That made the move even better. I was so proud of myself when I drove into Reno and was able to find where I wanted to go. Now driving into Carson City is no big thing, its 15 miles away. You will get adjusted to being in Sacramento and discovering the surrounding areas. Hopefully the remodel on your home will go smoothly. Love reading your posts and looking forward to your new book(s).
Thank you! It’s nice to know I’m not alone in feeling lost at times. And yes, like you, I’m getting better at navigating in unfamiliar territory.
I moved in 2022 also, but my move was a bit different. My husband and I lived in an older home that we remodeled. I got everything I needed and wanted in that house. We are senior citizens so we had to make the house fit our needs. Then my husband decided he wanted a new home. I didn’t care, as long as there was no remodeling. So we sold our home to our daughter and moved to a neighboring city in a new house. I’m now in a new comfort zone. Good luck with your remodel. I found out it ALWAYS costs more than you plan for.
I don’t see myself ever moving after this. Another move would probably kill me. Good for you for making your move happen. Yep, remodels always cost way more than you expect.